What Holy Bible Institute Believes About the Inspiration of the Bible
An often-debated issue in Christian circles these days is the matter of Bible translations and textual differences. This has forced all of us to become some kind of “textual critics.” This article is intended to clarify the position of Holy bible Institute regarding the text of the Scriptures. There is not room here to offer proof of all of our conclusions, but we certainly want to make them clear and we invite all questions and concerns surrounding this very important issue. The following is a list of six assertions about the Bible that we have listed in an attempt to avoid extremism without compromising my beliefs:
We believe…
1. That the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments were “God-breathed,” or given by the inspiration of God, resulting in a product that was inerrant and infallible in the original autographs.
2. That as God's Word was progressively given to His people (starting with Genesis) and completed with the book of Revelation around 90 A.D or so., there never was a time that any of those Words were lost. Therefore, God has fulfilled His promise to preserve His Word for every generation of human history as they were progressively given to men of God to record throughout history, through copies and translations of those original writings thus any true translation of the true Word of God is just inspired as it was when the Word was first written down. Jesus, Paul and others referred to their present day text as Scripture even though they only had and read from copies of the Hebrew Manuscripts. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God”.. (read small article here)
3. That inspiration applied not only to the autographs, but to the words of God which have been accurately retained through God’s preservation and then accurately translated from those accurate manuscripts as so demonstrated in both the Old and New Testament.
4. That God has preserved His Word to date in the formation and totality of manuscripts of what has come down to us in the final Masoretic Hebrew Text of the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus Greek Text of the New Testament. God was also at work preserving His Word through the early church as they were translating it into other languages and spreading it into their known world. The Word of God was translated into over 500 languages and dialects in the first 500 years of the church.
5. That the King James Version of the Bible has been proven to be part of that preserved line of text that the early church always was in control of and is the best English translation available to date, not only because it is an excellent translation, but because it is a translation of accurate Hebrew and Greek texts and has rejected any manuscripts that were compromised or corrupted by Gnostic's, heretics and apostates like Origen. The Apostle Paul warned the Church about this as did the earlier "Church Fathers" in their writings. All manuscripts ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED. Also, many true manuscripts were destroyed during the various persecutions. The true Church of the Living God has always been in control and possession of copies of the Word of God and handed down throughout history. To try and put a "Bible" together with just the remaining manuscripts cannot be done. This is why modern Bibles today always come up short, incomplete chapters, verses and words. The Bible, God's Word must be the final authority on inspiration and preservation and not, (in many instances, what unbelieving scholars, people who have denied many portions and teachings of the very scriptures say), those who are translating the manuscripts into the modern day versions of the Bible. God’s Word promises a pure inspired Word to every generation. You can believe God or listen to “Bruce M.”
6. That consistency in position demands that we use only the above-mentioned Hebrew and Greek texts like the KJV translation did along with it's predecessors.
These six statements essentially explain the position of Holy Bible Institute. For the sake of further clarity, some of them will be expanded here. Regarding the preservation of Scripture, some institutions have disavowed that God has even promised to preserve His Word. Our view is backed by Psalm 33:11; 100:5; 111:7-8; 117:2; 119: 89-90, 144, 152, 160; Isaiah 40:8; 59:21; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Luke 21:33; John 10:35; Acts 7:38; and I Peter 1: 25. Since it is our desire to see the Bible as the only authority for faith and practice, we do not see how all of these passages can be “explained away” by those who reject the fact that God has promised to preserve His Word.
Regarding the choice of the Textus Receptus for the Greek New Testament, Holy Bible Institute rejects the Westcott-Hort theory of textual transmission, although we appreciate those editors honestly acknowledging their own uncertainty by the frequent usage of terms like “conjecture,” “probabilities,” “presumptions,” “ambiguity,” “suppositions,” etc., in their explanatory notes. We have chosen to accept, rather, that which has been available to the largest number of believers for the greatest period of time in church history, which is the stream of texts represented by the Textus Receptus.
Regarding the usage of the King James Version, we believe that it was very well-translated, but that the English language has undergone some changes in the past. Since English is a living language, the modern-day connotations of words such as “conversation,” “charity,” and “gay,” is somewhat different from their 1611 meanings. Therefore, it is wisest to consult a trusted dictionary, where the Divine intent is unchanged. This will not refute the KJB, but will keep us from changing the meanings of the text to conform to modern usages that are not always correct and many time has words missing and even at times complete verses. A great example of this procedure is given to us in the Word of God (see I Sam 9:9-18). We should explain the text but we should not change the text if it means not being true to the true manuscripts which in return weakens the Word. Many (not knowingly in many cases), have traded for a modern text that has been compromised with corrupt manuscripts. We are not "KJV Only" (but use “ONLY KJB”) and we are not saying that another version can not be reproduced that would express a more modern speech (although I really do not believe that it can be done without loosing some true content) but just that it has not been done to date without using compromising manuscripts that are not complete themselves and therefor are missing verses and words and sometimes even make-up words that are not even in any manuscripts, in these modern Bibles. Our position at Holy Bible Institute is why use a version that is maybe 70%-90% right when you can have one that has always been accepted as right and inspired of God. Even top leading advocates of modern versions will tell you to use the King James Bible when doing serious Bible study.
Regarding our attitude toward those who disagree with us, we believe that we should reflect the principles of II Timothy 2:24; Romans 14:1-6; Ephesians 4:3; and James 3:17. We recognize that, as servants of the Lord we “must not strive, but be gentle,” we must not “despise or judge,” we must “endeavor” to keep unity, and that heavenly wisdom is “first pure, then peaceable.” We are willing to fellowship with those who have not yet come to these same conclusions and believe that they in return should not try to tear down us who have simply followed what has always been accepted as the true inspired Word of the Living God.
As we have stated on our home page, "You should know why you believe what you believe". Many of the disputed words of the KJB that the modern versions have dropped were clearly used by the Early Church Fathers. They quoted passages from Mark 16:9-20 and I John 5:7-8 for example. We can document every disputed verse and every disputed word in the KJB using documentation before the fourth century and as early as the first.
As we also have already noted in a previous page, Holy Bible Institute is not here to debate or argue but to present the tools for each person to discover the truth on their own. At the same time, Holy Bible Institute feels that it is only fair and honest to state our true convictions in a setting such as this one.
Holy Bible Institute was not designed to attack but to defend the truths that underline the History and Authenticity of the Bible. We believe that people can and have been saved using modern Bibles and that one can be blessed reading from them. We do believe however, that they have been greatly compromised with corrupted manuscripts and in many places have changed the meaning of the Word of God.
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